


Where She Began

by TheNightingaleLily



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:08:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29408154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightingaleLily/pseuds/TheNightingaleLily
Summary: Tess never had a family. Not by blood. But in Night City, you made your own family.An origin story of sorts for my Female V, featuring my Male "V", Vendetta.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Where She Began

“Fuck off! I know how to shoot!”

Tess did, in theory, know how to shoot. You point the gun at who you want to kill, and you pull the trigger.

She had just never done it before.

The man that had her cornered chuckled. “Where’d you get that gun, little girl?” he asked through rotting teeth.

“I-I killed a gonk like you! And took his gun!” That was a lie. She’d found it in a pile of garbage.

“Wow, must have _really_ been some gonk, cause that gun don’t have a clip in it,” the man grinned, and took a step towards her.

“I-it has a bullet in it though! Fuck off or I’ll shoot!” Tess tried to move back but her back only met a chain link fence. Her hands were starting to shake—rather, they had  _ been _ shaking since the man started following her, but now they shook so violently that the gun shook with them. 

The man continued to take step after menacing step towards her. So she pulled the trigger. And his head exploded. And she screamed.

“Calm down, kid. Jesus.”

Tess whirled around and pointed her gun towards the voice behind her. On the other side of the fence stood a tall man, somehow more terrifying than the one who had chased her. Dark, blocky tattoos covered most of his face and every visible surface had some form of metal jewelry shoved through it. His eyes were bloodshot, irises as blood red as his hair. He had more cybernetics than she could count.

“Know I don’t look it, but I ain’t gonna hurt ya,” he drawled. The man holstered his gun and smoothly climbed up the fence and hopped down next to Tess. “What’s yer name?”

“Tess,” she said cautiously. “And I coulda taken him. My gun just jammed.”

“Your gun’s got no bullets. How old are you?”

“Ten.”

“You alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Right, then come with me.” And the man started walking, stepping on the body of the man he’d killed.

Tess had nothing better to do, so she followed. “Wait, what’s your name?” she asked.

The man turned around and gave her a grin that was somehow both terrifying and calming.

“V.”

~~~

“Ven!” Tess shouted, as soon as the door to their apartment slid open. “I got my first gig!”

“Proud’a ya kid, but keep it down,” Ven groaned. He was spread out on the couch with a wet cloth on his forehead and a bucket beside him.

“Oh, injection day?” Tess asked—quietly.

“You bet.” He patted the spot on the couch next to his head. “Siddown, tell me about the gig.”

“I’m planting a bug, in a...I think it’s a bar?”

“Mm. Better do your research.”

“I know, I will.”

“It from Padre?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, he’ll take care’a ya.” Ven took in a sharp inhale of breath. “Nnnnn, hand me my bucket.”

Tess snapped to grab the bucket and move it into place just as Ven retched into it. Not much came out.

“Why don’t you just...take the implants out? Or turn them off?” she asked. It was hard seeing her brother—surrogate brother—have to deal with the awful side effects of baloperidol every single month.

“Not that simple.”

“You always say that, I don’t know what that means.”

“It  _ means _ you don’t gotta worry about it. Now shoo, I need a nap.”

Tess huffed, but lifted the wet cloth to plant a kiss on his forehead. “Feel better, gonk,” she said, and went to the comp to do some research.

~~~

“If you fucking call Max Tac, you won’t get two words out before there’s a bullet in your head!”

“Bitch, he’s gonna kill someone!”

“I will deal with him! He’s my  _ brother,  _ I will  _ deal with him.” _

“Fine, but you’re fuckin crazy! I’m leaving!”

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,_ Tess thought, as she loaded non-lethal rounds in to her revolver. _I fuckin’_ _told you, you FUCK._

Ven was pacing the street, muttering nonsensical words to himself, periodically waving his revolver around him.

“Ven,” Tess called, as calmly as she could. “Ven, it’s me, it’s Tess.” She took a few very, very slow steps towards him. “Do you know me? You better...ya gonk, you raised me.”

Ven’s head whipped around to look at her. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, the diodes behind them glowing an ominous red.

“Tessa, Tessa, Tessa,” he whispered, a mirthless grin stretching across his face. “Will you help me? Ven-det-ta. Will you help me?”

“What do you need help with, Ven?” Tess asked. She took a couple more steps and watched him for any reaction.

“Kill,” he said, simply.

“No, no killing. Alright? No killing.” She held her gun pointed to the sky, hopefully making it clear to him that she posed no threat to him. But she had no idea whether  _ anything _ could be clear to him in this state. “We can get you to a doc, maybe get you some balo. Okay? Ven, okay?”

Ven’s next words were drowned out by the roar of an AV hovering into place above them.  _ No!  _ Tess thought.  _ No you bastard! _

A team of Max Tac soldiers dropped several meters away and a voice yelled over the loudspeaker, “Civilian, drop your weapon and move away from the cyberpsycho!” 

“No!” Tess shouted over the roar of the engines. “Get outta here, you’re gonna spook him! I know him!” But as she turned to the soldiers, pleading, Tess heard an inhuman growl from behind her.

“Tessa, Tessa, Tessa, they want to hurt you, they WILL NOT,” Ven screamed, and aimed his revolver.

But his arms were barely able to twitch before the soldiers opened fire and Tess let out a blood curdling scream.

_ “NO, don’t shoot him, DON’T SHOOT! VEN!!”  _ she screamed. She wanted to run to him, stand in front of him, protect him, but a pair of arms was holding her back, dragging her away.  _ “Don’t kill him, PLEASE!! Ven!!” _

She struggled, she fought, she tried to get away but the more she struggled, the tighter the soldier’s grip became until finally she saw no other choice but to raise her gun at the nearest soldier and—

A sharp pain in her back and everything went black.

~~~

“Next.”

Tess stepped up to the desk. 

“Destination?”

“Atlanta.”

“Purpose of travel?”

“Business.”

“Name?”

Tess clenched her jaw.

“V.”


End file.
